A/N: Okay, so fanfiction was literally down for like, three days, and it wouldn't let me log in...at all. I was totally freaked! But it did let me read, and I found some stuff that really got me motivated to write! This chapter is short and quick, but I'm already halfway through the next one and am really excited to share it with you, ahah! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Wizard's POV

It was tiring, sometimes.

Living as a wizard did have its drawbacks, many of which included living for such an extended amount of time. The others mainly had to do with the friends that were made along the way, for there is no capable way of keeping them on earth forever, to stay until the earth itself has rotted away and the stars have taken it in a flash of light in dark.

Wizard believed that the Goddess cared for him. He believed that, considering he knew her personally, maybe she would spare him the heartache of a long life, that she would give him some sort of happiness and freedom. Instead, she gave him lone nights and a coffee addiction, which, in retrospect, weren't all that bad. He did enjoy stargazing at night, where it was quiet and undisturbed by the movements of the mortals, though Wizard hardly minded the humans.

He interacted with them more than the Goddess or the Witch did, for he lived directly in the middle of their town and there wasn't much he could do to change it. Sure, they had chosen to build their small town around his master's home, but it wasn't quite his fault; he did urge them on while his master and the Witch refused, but that was beyond the point. He didn't mind them at all.

Some were even kind, with smiles and warm hearts and pleasant voices. Colleen in town, for example, made the Wizard much happier than she should have—she was kind to him when others watched with fear, she sold him coffee though her daughter had once protested against it. Now, her daughter was quite used to the man who bought coffee from their establishment, and would even wave or say hello when he passed.

So, humans weren't that bad.

From his trips to the Inn, Wizard often heard many things. Weather predictions, social gossiping, and more often than not, who was supposedly in some sort of scandalous affair with who. It wasn't until most recently, though, that the talk of the town was the new farmer. He could never catch her name for no one said it; she was just mentioned as the new farmer in town that was supposedly bringing prosperity back to Harmonica Town. Wizard doubted it—he knew the truth; he knew that the Goddess tree was dying and that, despite a mortals best efforts, it could not be stopped. But he listened for the fun of it, lingering in the dining room of the Inn to catch what gossip he could of the town and its people.

Colleen's daughter was speaking animatedly to another woman, one with a blonde ponytail and cowboy boots, about the newest addition to the town. Wizard overheard much about her—apparently she was pretty, but not threatening enough to 'scare away the boys', which puzzled the Wizard to an extent. She was hardworking but poor, and often went without certain things to keep others happy.

When Wizard walked past to leave, he tried not to hear the sudden remarks about his clothing that the girls instantly started in on, remarking that though he was handsome, his clothes could use a 'makeover'. Female humans were oddly different, that was for sure.

When Wizard had met Hikari, she wasn't at all what he had expected. He had expected a short, blonde girl with a wide smile and a strong attitude, but instead, had found the real-Hikari, who was tall and gangly, with careful eyes and cropped hair that tickled around the edge of her neck. Her voice was soft, quiet—unhearable if someone tried to speak over her. She walked ungracefully, and her steps were rigid, but she was different, and different was nice.

As soon as Hikari asked about the Witch, Wizard no longer doubted that she was the one restoring the land. If she was ringing the bells, there was no doubt that she was destined to save the Harvest Goddess and return Castanet to its original glory. It puzzled him, though, how a girl so fragile and small was running a farm and ringing the bells of the Goddess. Hikari was delicate; when she entered his home, he realized it. The way that her eyes swept the room in a trance, taking in every detail that there was to see and evaluating it to her standards—she was certainly observant. The few minutes she was in his home, he realized off things about her; the way she would brush her hair out of her face, the way she spoke fluently and efficiently and softly, and the way she bit at her lip if she was just the slightest bit uncertain. She was such a strange human, and Wizard couldn't quite place why he felt as though he had known her for ages.

That was why he agreed to fix her telescope—that, and the way she was brushing her hair away from her eyes, the way she was smiling—and though he knew he shouldn't have been, he was excited to interact with her once more. She was different and he liked it.

Why she came to him, he didn't know; perhaps a friend had pointed her in his direction? Maybe she just wanted a fortune, but decided against it?

Overall, that was where it was all left off, and now she stood, a few feet away in his home once more with a smile at her lips and a twinkle to her hazel eyes. Her telescope had surprised him, too—he figured there wasn't much about her that wouldn't surprise him at this point—and he had been happy to fix it, to help her regain the light in her eyes. She was overjoyed when she saw it, and now, with a coffee mug pressed to her lips and a content look upon her face, the wizard perceived that she was very similar to him, besides the everlasting immortal part.

Wizard looked at her once more, briefly, before moving to head up the stairs. He was…unsure in social customs; should he invite her to his observatory? He certainly wanted to.

It seemed that he didn't have a choice. She followed behind him with timid steps, and by the time they had reached the top, she was near to right behind him. He walked to the edge of the room as the girl searched it in awe, her face stretched in wonder. The room itself had the telescope that was visible from the bottom floor poking through the ceiling, yet nearly the entire ceiling here was scatted with windows of all sorts, allowing anyone standing in the room to see the stars from nearly every angle. The back wall wasn't much of a wall as it was a window—it appeared to be one-way glass, tinted slightly but still clear, and it was easy to look out over the stars and the see the Church courtyard, the moon like a spotlight on the hardened cobblestone.

Wizard nodded his head, almost in pride, and watched as the girl stepped towards the back wall in wonder. She pressed her free hand to it, leaving slight fingerprints against the glass, and nearly laughed at herself for jumping back at her reflection.

"Why so many windows?"

Hikari's question was silly and unexpected, but then again, everything about her was that way.

"It is…easier to see the…stars this way."

"Ah, I guess I should have known," Hikari giggled lightly and then moved so she could sit in front of his telescope, the massive one that was at least the size of her cow and twice as wide. She leant her back against it, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her coffee mug on her knee so she could look up at the stars. Wizard watched the way she sat—holding her knees to herself as though she was holding herself together, like she would otherwise break into pieces. Tentatively, he took a seat beside her, dropping to the ground unceremoniously with a thud. He was far enough that his arm didn't brush hers, but close enough to notice the smell of strawberry and cream that came from her, almost intoxicatingly so.

Wizard looked up into the sky as she was; examining what he could with the bare eye before looking back to Hikari, whom he noticed was now looking at him. She smiled.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

"I was…merely thinking…of the stars," he said, but he kept his gaze on her. This seemed to make her uncomfortable or embarrassed—which, the wizard couldn't be sure—and she flushed a light pink, her skin contrasted with the dark of her hair and the rosy color of her blush. "They…never cease…to surprise me."

At least he was speaking a bit of the truth. The stars hadn't been on his thoughts as much as she was.

She was quiet for a moment, and when she looked back to him from the stars, her face was tentative, like she was scared, and she was biting at her lip in hesitation. Wizard watched her from the corner of his eye.

Finally, she worked up enough nerve to ask him, though her voice shook slightly. "Wizard, why are your words so spaced when you speak?"

"I am…" He looked amused for a moment as he took a sip of his cooling coffee, his mouth curling upwards in the corners, "I am out of…practice."

"You mean—"

"I do not…speak with others…very often."

Hikari stared for a moment before quickly replacing her gaze to the stars. Wizard noticed that they were bright tonight, and stood out in the murky blackness of the night sky, shining like candles in the dark. He could easily pick out his favorites and just make out the shapes of the constellations that his master had taught him so long ago. Hikari was staring intently at the sky, as well, and nearly jumped when he spoke.

"A…penny…for your…thoughts?"

Hikari laughed at his uncertain voice, shy and timid, but real curiosity hidden in its undertone. "Just thinking of the stars," she said, and he laughed like she had, yet his own laugh so different from hers. Quieter, shyer, more refined—more of a chuckle than a real laugh. "My mother taught me many of them, but it was a long time ago and I can't remember them all." Hikari put her mug down onto the ground beside her and curled herself tighter into a ball. The wizard took notice that once again, it appeared that she was holding herself together. "I do remember my favorites, though," she added.

"Which…would be?"

She looked at him in surprise before letting one of her arms loose to point at a star that Wizard recognized instantly. "Mintaka. It's usually not so easy to see during the summer, but assuming your house is on elevated ground…"

He nodded.

"And your favorite star?"

"Saiph," He rolled the word, able to recreate its Arabic descent, and smiled, "Very close…to Mintaka, yet…still very far apart." She seemed to be impressed by his ability to recreate the word's correct sounding judging by her widened eyes.

Hikari gave a brief nod, telling the man that she recognized it. "Orion's Belt has always been my favorite constellation," she commented quietly, sipping her chilled coffee, and sighed. "It was the first constellation my mother ever showed me, I guess."

"I've never…" Wizard started, but couldn't stop as Hikari glanced over to see him staring, her face going red once more. She was so odd—why was his looking causing her to flush? It was so easy to cause her cheeks to go red; just one look and she was as red as a rose. "I've never met…someone who loves…the stars as much as…I do." He struggled with the longer sentence, pausing to catch his breath.

Her face flushed even darker but she smiled at him.

"Neither have I."

And for a moment, they sat, with empty coffee mugs at their feet, and watched the stars in silence.

Okay, so I swear, I do have this entire story planned out and literally cANNOT WAIT TO GET TO THE GOOD STUFF. Like ahhhh, I'm so ready for them to be in love already, ahah. I love a good romance fic just as much as the next girl...but honestly, I hate it when fics go too fast and suddenly the characters are in love and its like, "Wait, didn't she just introduce herself and now you're kissing?" So, I'm trying desperately to space it out and put in some filler and plotting and characterization before any kissing comes along...hahah.

Thanks so much for reading, especially to Mnema for your reviews! I (literally) jumped with joy when I saw them, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

-tolkienlover